The "MOMarCEt" project aims to empower mothers(especially the disadvantaged eg. single, facing socioeconomic challenges, migrant) learning about circular economy(especially around baby/child care industry) and generating innovative ideas and enterprises protecting the environment andpromoting gender equality in entrepreneurship. MOMarCEt aims to promote a more sustainable model of circular economy which involves sharing, leasing, reusing,repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing baby related materials and products as long as possible. With partners from Bulgaria and Greece, the “MOMarCEt” project aims to play a vital part in helping mothers re-entering in the workplace, promoting gender equality in entrepreneurship as well as the protection of the environment and fight for climate change.Through research, shord videos and podcasts and advocacy campaign, the project fosters a perspective that focuses on women empowerment and mothers re-entrance in theworkplace or entrepreneurship, promoting equal opportunities and inclusion, the development of skills of mothers for the new digital era, a circular economy approach in child/baby industry and the development of start-ups focusing on green practices.
The MOMarCEt project emphasizes in empowering mothers to learn about circular economy and generating innovative ideas and enterprises protecting the environment. More specifically, according to the European Parliament the EU produces more than 2.1 billion tonnes of waste every year. The baby/child care industry is playing a crucial role to the production of waste (eg. single-use disposable diapers and wipes, clothes, toys,products for breast-feading or food packaging, furniture etc). The baby/child care industry has harmful results to the environment: i) around 33 billion single-use baby nappies were consumed, resulting in 6,731,000 tonnes of waste per year, ii) around 68 billion individual wet wipes were consumed, which equates to 511,000 tonnes of waste per year (The environmental & economic costs of single-use menstrual products, baby nappies & wet wipes, 2019), iii) The production of disposable nappies also requires over 1.3 million tons of wood pulp,75,000 tons of plastic, and 20,000 tons of petroleum-based materials annually. iv) the global toy market produces over 100 million tons of plastic waste every year, much of which ends up in landfills and oceans (playitgreen.com, 2020) v) the production of plastic toys and other baby products contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. vi) the transportation of baby products also contributes to environmental impacts. These numbers indicate the importance of both making consumers aware of the results of their choices on the environment with a view to change their attitude and help them make more conscious and sustainable choices as well as the significant role of transforming this industry through a circular economy to a more sustainable one.The production and transportation of all these products also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. This has consequently effects on climate change. Τhe goal of women's empowerment is related to the fact that women are, in most countries, the basic carers of babies/children thus they are the main consumers of baby/child care industry products. Moreover, the project recognizes the importance of promoting gender equality in entrepreneurship. While women are, in most countries, the basic carers of babies/children, they are also the main group that is affected by the babies/child care during their career path. According to Make mothers matter study, 17% of women leave their job when they become mothers and a bigger percentage reduce their working hours from full time jobs to part time. According to Eurostat, 2/5 households with children under 3 years old have only one working, 1/5 have both parents working but one of them only part time and 7% of them have no working family member. The study reveals also that it is usually the mother who quits working or reduces her working full time employment to part time. Furthermore, a study of Make mothers matter (2020), underlines that fewer than 1/5 of mothers return to full-time work in the first three years after maternity leave. The European Commission reports that only 30% of entrepreneurs and 32% of economic leaders in the EU are women. EITunderlines that only 18.4% of start-up founders are women. Additionally self-employed women experience severe gender gaps and may earn 30% to 40% less than men. The MOMarCEt project aims to address these urgent challenges and propose an innovative methodology for empowering green & entrepreneurial skills of mothers towards a more sustainable circular baby/child care industry adjusted to their needs.